Winter Storm in North Carolina, January 3 to 4, 2018

Name: Winter Storm in North Carolina, January 3 to 4, 2018
Start: 2018-01-03T15:30
End: 2018-01-04T04:00
Location: North Carolina

January 3 to 4, 2018 · NWS ILM · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Low pressure bombed off the east coast, bringing a wintry mix for the Carolinas. Local snowfall totals averaged from 2 to 5 inches with some ice accretion from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ILM wrote it up.

Low pressure bombed off the east coast, bringing a wintry mix for the Carolinas. Local snowfall totals averaged from 2 to 5 inches with some ice accretion from Georgetown to Myrtle Beach. Record cold followed the next week.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wilmington, NC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 3:24 PM EST, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 3:24 PM EST, 6 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 3:28 PM EST, 2 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Wilmington NC
328 PM EST Wed Jan 3 2018

AMZ250-252-254-256-041100-
Coastal waters from Surf City to Cape Fear NC out 20 nm-
Coastal waters from Cape Fear NC to Little River Inlet SC out 20 nm-
Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out
20 nm-
Coastal waters from Murrells Inlet to South Santee River SC out
20 nm-
328 PM EST Wed Jan 3 2018

...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EST THURSDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the adjacent Coastal Waters.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Gale Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Gale Warning.

Small Craft Advisory conditions will likely occur Thursday through
Thursday night.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

NCZ087-096-099-105-107-109-SCZ024-032-033-039-055-058-059-041100-
Robeson-Bladen-Columbus-Inland Pender-Inland New Hanover-
Inland Brunswick-Dillon-Florence-Marion-Williamsburg-
Inland Georgetown-Central Horry-Northern Horry-
328 PM EST Wed Jan 3 2018

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast North Carolina and
northeast South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Wind chill advisories may be needed at times Thursday night through
Saturday morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are asked to report measurements of snowfall, snow depth, and
ice accumulation to the National Weather Service.

SCZ017-023-041100-
Marlboro-Darlington-
328 PM EST Wed Jan 3 2018

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Weather Advisory.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Wind chill advisories may be needed at times Thursday night through
Saturday morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are asked to report measurements of snowfall, snow depth, and
ice accumulation to the National Weather Service.

NCZ106-108-110-SCZ054-056-041100-
Coastal Pender-Coastal New Hanover-Coastal Brunswick-Coastal Horry-
Coastal Georgetown-
328 PM EST Wed Jan 3 2018

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST THURSDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for southeast North Carolina and
northeast South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday.

Wind chill advisories may be needed at times Thursday night through
Saturday morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are asked to report measurements of snowfall, snow depth, and
ice accumulation to the National Weather Service.

9

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Inland Pender

When: January 3, 3:30 PM EST to January 4, 4:00 AM EST
Where: Inland Pender forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.515, -77.889 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by afternoon on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|8 pm, and the totals for the event ranged from three to five inches. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

Winter Storm, Coastal Pender

When: January 3, 3:30 PM EST to January 4, 3:30 AM EST
Where: Coastal Pender forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.515, -77.889 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by afternoon on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|800 pm, and the totals for the event ranged from three to five inches. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

Winter Storm, Inland New Hanover

When: January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 3:00 AM EST
Where: Inland New Hanover forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.181, -77.866 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by afternoon on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|11 pm, and the totals for the event ranged from one to four inches with the heaviest accumulations to the north. A tenth of an inch of ice was also reported southwest of Wilmington. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

Winter Storm, Coastal New Hanover

When: January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 3:30 AM EST
Where: Coastal New Hanover forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 34.181, -77.866 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by afternoon on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|11 pm, and the total snow for the event was about an inch along the coast. A quarter of an inch of ice was also reported in Kure Beach. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

Winter Storm, Inland Brunswick

When: January 3, 4:00 PM EST to January 4, 1:30 AM EST
Where: Inland Brunswick forecast zone
Reported by: Social Media
Coordinates: 34.039, -78.227 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by afternoon on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|9 pm, and the totals for the event ranged from one half inch to four inches with most of the snow falling on the northeast portion of the county. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

Winter Storm, Robeson

When: January 3, 5:00 PM EST to January 4, 12:30 AM EST
Where: Robeson forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 34.640, -79.103 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began falling by early evening on Jan 3rd. Two inches of snow had fallen by|830 pm, and the totals for the event ranged from one to five inches, with the heaviest snow accumulations on the west side of the county. The low pressure responsible for the winter weather bombed off the east coast, dropping 24 millibars in twenty four hours. Record cold preceded and followed the event, lasting until Jan 8th.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Carolina in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history Warnings in North Carolina, January 2018

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 737007, 737008, 737014, 737018, 737022, 737002.